Well, that’s what a local daily in Kolkata thinks

Director Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai is one of the few films that have won the hearts of critics across the board. It is surprising that even with this kind of unanimous approval; it has not set the cash registers ringing at the BO. Of course, it has been declared a hit, but it doesn’t seem to be headed towards the ‘Rs 100 cr Club’ territory. One thing that Shanghai has managed to do is, create a bunch of controversies. While we aren’t sure if it is a PR strategy, but the makers should be happy!

The Bharat mata ki jaicontroversy has just about died out, and we heard that a local daily of Kolkata has alleged that the character played by Supriya Pathak, that of a politician, seems to be modelled on Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee. The concern is that towards the end of Shanghai, Pathak’s character turns negative and obviously, the people of West Bengal don’t want their CM to be portrayed in such light. This, despite the disclaimer about the people and events in the film being fictional at the very beginning of the film. The newspaper is probably attempting to grab some attention, and we hope that this doesn’t snowball into a new controversy for the movie.

Rowdy Rathore might have enjoyed a record opening at the box office, but the Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha starrer is now going to face a huge competition from Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai. The makers of Shanghaimade sure that the film’s promos and posters create a lot of curiosity among the movie buffs. Also the music of the film, especially, the song Bharat Mata Ki Jai has become a rage.

There’s no doubt about Rowdy Rathore’s humongous success. The Prabhu Deva production has turned out to be one of the biggest money spinners of the year. Akki’s action-thriller has done very well at BO. It netted Rs 46 crore in the first four days after its release and Rs 80 crore till date. But with Dibaker’s much anticipated and realistic film releasing today, it is being speculated that Rowdy Rathore’s collections might suffer.

This weekend is going to be a game changer for sure. With a clear divide of the genres and two different choices available, which movie would you like to catch this weekend, Akki’s masala entertainer or Dibakar’s refreshingly different take on India’s socio-political scene?

He is known for making films on unconventional subjects, but Anurag Kashyap is jealous of fellow director Dibakar Banerjee for making a film like Shanghai, says the film’s heroine and Kashyap’s wife Kalki Koechlin. “Anurag has seen Shanghai. He is a little jealous of Dibakar Banerjee for having made a film like this,” said Kalki at the ongoing International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in Singapore. Shanghai is set to release Friday.

The actor, who looked elegant in white embroidered gown, was here with co-star Abhay Deol and Banerjee for the world premiere of Shanghai. However, Kashyap was missing. Asked about the reason for his absence, Kalki said: “He (Kashyap) doesn’t like to attend award functions. Also he is filming in Mumbai, that’s why he couldn’t come. But he supports me for the film.”

The actor is known for carving a niche for herself with unconventional roles, but Kalki doesn’t consider herself to be unconventional. “I really don’t know what is a conventional or unconventional role. I only do what I believe in and I know how to do for sure,” she said.

Before the release, Shanghai was in legal trouble when a public interest litigation was filed against the film’s song Bharat mata ki jai by Tejinder Pal Singh Bagga, president of Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena. He sought a stay on the film until the song was deleted. The court, however, rejected the plea and cleared the film for screening. “I don’t think this film is trying to offend anyone, it’s just observing the reality we live in,” Kalki said.

Organised by Wizcraft International Entertainment, the three-day cine event started Thursday.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday (June 6) dismissed a plea seeking stay of the June 8 release of Bollywood film Shanghai, saying that there was nothing insulting in its song Bharat mata ki jai. A division bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rajiv Shakdher said: “We do not find anything objectionable in the said song. In a democracy, every person has a right to voice his views and opinions…the same right to speech and expression cannot be curtailed except under some circumstances.”

A petition had been filed on June 4 in the Delhi High Court for an interim stay on the June 8 release of upcoming Bollywood film Shanghai until its controversial song Bharat mata ki jai was deleted.

The song from Shanghai is an ‘insult to all countrymen’, says Congress VP Charan Singh Sapra seeking a ban

The Mumbai unit of the Congress party Tuesday called for a ban on the song Bharat mata ki jai featured in a forthcoming Bollywood movie Shanghai, saying it hurts patriotic sentiments and degrades India. In a letter addressed to union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Ambika Soni, Mumbai Congress Vice-President Charan Singh Sapra has contended that the content of the entire song is an insult to all countrymen who respect India as their motherland. Hence it is very likely to inflame the feelings of all Indians, resulting in disharmony, rioting, breach of peace and tranquility within the country, Sapra said.

The song contains controversial words like sarkari hathiyaar (government weapons), dhandha (business), chanda (donations or fund), dengue, malaria, gobar (cow dung), which Sapra alleged have been deliberately used to defame the country. Such defaming language has been used despite the full knowledge that the same shall definitely wound the patriotic feelings and sentiments of the people, besides ridiculing and degrading India in the eyes of the world, he urged.

Sapra has sought an immediate and total ban on the song from being broadcast/telecast in any manner, deleting it from the movie and to fix accountability and initiate action against the concerned censor board officials who cleared the offensive number.

Based on the novel by Vassilis Vassilikos, Shanghai is a political thriller directed by Dibakar Banerjee and stars Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin. It is slated for release this Friday (June 8).

Watch the anthem-like number from Dibakar Banerjee’s next film

The Abhay Deol-Emraan Hashmi-starrer, Shanghai is one of the most anticipated films of the year. Dibakar Banerjee’s most ambitious film till date is being discussed and debated over, even before its release and that in itself is a mean feat. The controversy over Bharat mata ki jai is still going on, as jingoists aren’t able to digest the satire penned by Dibakar.

The Morcha song penned by Kumaar has vocals by Raja Hasan and Vishal Dadlani and has every potential to be a chartbuster. The soundtrack of Shanghai is nothing like the previous outings of Vishal-Shekhar and has a distinct flavour. Wethinks the complete songs might not be featured in the film as it is a political thriller, but they definitely do add to the viewer’s curiosity quotient!

From the video, we think the melody is a part of the background score to build up the pathos of Kalki Koechlin and Emraan Hashmi’s characters in the political thriller. It’s not a song that you will add to your iPods and mp3 players immediately, but the heartrending lyrics make Duaa worth listening to more than once.

After a promising start with two diverse melodies – Bharat mata ki jai and Duaa, we eagerly await the much-talked about item song Imported kamariya. Let’s hope that one impresses us too like the previous numbers.

Bharat mata ki jai sets the tone for this album. A comment on the current state of the India, where corruption, population issues, poverty and politics coexist with economic growth and progress – this song takes the light route to a serious issue. A long list of singers lends their voices to the song – Arun Ingle, Vishal Dadlani, RN Iyer, Mandar Apte, Bhupesh and Dibakar Banerjee. Dibakar has also written the lyrics for this song, and he has paid special attention to the crafting of words in a bid to achieve the impact he is looking for. Despite being satirical, it has the flavour of a local basti celebration with trumpets and a heavy use of dhols. With thumping beats and anthemish feel, it is sure be on the playlist of Ganpati pandals this year.

There are two more numbers in this soundtrack that make a similar comment. Morcha is situational. The use of morchan and dhol give it a very Mumbaiyya feel, especially because of its Ganesh festival-like ambience. Raja Hassan’s refreshing voice really works for this track. Wish Vishal had not been so direct with his usage of words like ‘mukti’, ‘unnati’ and ‘light’ to make the point that Bharatnagar was heading towards progress. A little more subtlety would have made the song more poetic and listenable. Nonetheless, it’s a powerful song, which could make more sense when seen in the context of the film.

Imported kamariya is an item number that talks about how the West views our country. That is definitely a refreshing change. The musical quality is nothing to write home about and the tune sounds quite jaded. But the lyrics are quite funny. “Door seher se humka laaga India aisa place. Oont gay pe aata-jaata hoga sara des…meri imported kamariya chaat ke ayi duniya, welcome welcome karti India jaan le gayi…”

Khudaya – last minute addition to this soundtrack – is a good break from the issue-based heavy numbers. It’s meant to be a quintessential Emraan Hashmi song, and so it is in the romantic and groovy zone. The qawwali portions in the middle and the claps used in sync with the beats towards the end really stand out.

Dua is a sad song. Sung by Shekhar Ravjiani and Nadini Srikar, it starts off softly and then goes high pitch. Shekhar does a very good job, but Nandini’s voice sounds a little too mature and thick for a song of this kind. It’s a decent melody and grows on you. The album ends with Vishnu Sahasranaam – beautifully rendered by singer Srivatsa Krishna.

Dibakar has tried too hard to make the soundtrack of Shanghai commercially viable and it loses some of its spontaneity in the process. Vishal-Shekhar go out of their comfort zone by composing for a serious subject and do a decent job. Not bad!

The ‘Banta hai’ song from the Amitabh Bachchan-Sanjay Dutt-starrer has irked a top cop, as it showed the police department in a bad light

Ram Gopal Varma is in the line of fire once again, and this time he has upset Additional Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti with his tasteless ‘Banta hai’ song from Department, a film based on the nexus of cops and gangsters. When we first watched the song teaser we were repulsed and guessed that it might land the makers in trouble and we were right!

At a special screening, ACP Deven Bharti asked the Censor Board to remove the song from Department as it shows the cops as mafia in disguise. We had more issues with ‘Banta hai’, especially the crass lyrics and the video which showed Dutt, who is playing a cop, accepting bribes. His vulgar dance moves made us cringe and squirm like never before.

A lot has already been written about RGV’s ‘rogue camera’ gimmickry which gave us a severe headache…and then this controversy followed. We are not sure if Ramu’s PR machinery has planted these gems to keep Department in the news, since these days any publicity is good publicity. Recently a jingoist group expressed outrage over the ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ from Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai. While wethinks the Shanghai ditty was relevant, Department’s ‘Banta hai’ totally put us off. Do share with us – what is your take on both these songs.

With his paan-stained crooked teeth and his grubby clothes, Emraan Hashmi easily grabs the attention of his viewers. And so do the colourful lyrics of his latest song Bharat mata ki jai

WatchBharat Mata Ki Jai song from Dibakar Banerjee’s upcoming film Shanghai and you will realise that Emraan Hashmi has gone all out to break the image that he has built over the years. The lyrics of this catchy number are as raw as Emraan’s mucky appearance in the film. With this track, the director wants to cast light on the growing disparity in our society and the current state of our ‘shining’ nation. But when we translated those hard hitting lines into English, the meaning definitely got lost in translation. Check it out!